Nice Girls Preview The Emmys

The 62nd Annual Emmy Awards arrive with the requisite glitz and glamor this Sunday, August 29, starting at 8/7c on NBC. Here are a few of the shows we hope to see taking home gold trophies.

Modern Family

Funny even in print...

Coming off a phenomenal debut season as one of the most critically lauded comedies in years, Modern Family has been nominated for 14 Emmy nominations. Nominations include Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series, 2 nominations for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, and a remarkable 6 nominations for the talented actors. Jesse Tyler, Eric Stonestreet and Ty Burrell received nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series; Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara received nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and Fred Willard scored a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

The show about a multi-tiered family all searching for love, happiness and a bit of peace while bring up their children in today’s modern world of techno-gadgets, unconventional child-rearing techniques and too many distractions caught everyone’s attention right away. The combination of docu-drama storytelling expertly blended with precision comedy was captivating. It also had audiences clutching their sides with erupting laughter. One perfect example was the now infamous line by Ty Burrell’s character, Phil Dunphy when he espoused his knowledge of texting abbreviations citing “WTF” as meaning “why the face.” If you missed it, you missed it — now go find a way to go back and watch it! ~ Tiffany

Lost

The final season of the ABC drama Lost has garnered four best acting nominations: Best Actor in a Drama to Matthew Fox; Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for both Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn and Best Guest Actress in a Drama to Elizabeth Mitchell. The story of Lost chronicled the stories of the survivors of downed Oceanic Flight 815 and the mysterious inhabitants of that island. The defacto leader of the survivors, Dr. Jack Shephard (Fox) was a man of science who did everything he could to get them all off the island only to end up right back where he started, returning to the island and eventually giving his life to save them. Meanwhile, John Locke (O’Quinn) and Benjamin Linus (Emerson) had been bitter rivals from nearly the beginning, both wanting to be the leader of “the Others” (the original inhabitants on the island) and both failing miserably. Lastly, there was Dr. Juliet Burke (Mitchell), who gave her life trying to correct what caused Oceanic Flight 815 to crash on the island. ~ Rueben

True Blood

We miss you, Godric.

With True Blood currently rocking its third season on HBO, it takes a few moments to rewind to season 2 and remember why this show earned an Emmy nod for Outstanding Drama Series, along with 4 other nominations. Coming off a debut season that played well to fans of the novels on which it’s based, the second season exploded onto the screen and quickly became a national phenomenon. HBO orchestrated a masterful publicity campaign that scored them record audiences and secured the show as a pop culture powerhouse.

Season 2 had two major villains: The Fellowship of the Sun and Maryann. Although fans grew weary of each in turn, they did provide the actors with some juicy storylines. We were disappointed not to see individual acting nominations, but in an ensemble cast as big as this one, with so many terrific characters, how do you choose? Michelle Forbes over the top Maryann is the only person I think had a real shot at an individual nomination; Alan Hyde’s work as Godric was phenomenal, but I think was overlooked because he was in the middle of the season for just a couple of episodes. The current season, however, is yielding several portrayals that might show up when nominations are announced next year.

In addition to Outstanding Drama Series,  True Blood was nominated for Outstanding Casting in a Drama Series, Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series, Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Miniseries, Movie Or A Special, and Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series. I don’t expect True Blood to go home with the big prize on Sunday, but just by being invited, I think the door has been opened to the genre and more trophies are in the show’s future. ~ Melissa

Dexter

An unconventional drama highlighting the daily trials and tribulations of a serial killer trying to live by a code of honor, Dexter nabbed an incredible 8 Emmy nominations. Nominations include Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series, Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media – Fiction, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series, and 2 acting nominations. Michael C. Hall received a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and John Lithgow received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series — showing that the dark dance between Dexter and the Trinity Killer not only spellbound audiences, it caught the Emmy voters’ attention too.

Dexter is a show that should not appeal to mass audiences, but the remarkable combination of a killer who only kills those who deserve it makes it a guilty pleasure that we cannot stop watching. It fascinates and repels simultaneously. ~ Tiffany

Burn Notice

Sharon Gless is ready to burn up the Emmys!

The popular USA Network series about Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) a burned spy who is relegated to Miami where he ends up assisting those who need help from “outside the law” has been a staple for the network for several years now. But, this is the first time the series has garnered an Emmy nomination in an acting category. Well-known actress Sharon Gless (from Cagney & Lacey fame), who plays Michael’s mother Madeline Westen, has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama category.

“Maddie,” as she is known on Burn Notice, is Michael’s wise-cracking, chain-smoking mother who knows exactly what her son and his friends Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) and Fiona Glenanne (Gabrielle Anwar) are up to each week and she is there to support them in any way she can and in her own unique way. ~ Rueben

Glee

Who knew that what audiences have been missing is a musical comedy? A smash hit from its sneak peek debut in May of last year, the Glee train has not stopped rolling. Buoyed by its success, Fox renewed the show for for a third season before it finished its first. The talented cast have been everywhere from talk shows to concerts, and despite criticism that the show is  more substance than style, we just can’t stop believin’ in Glee. (Sorry, had to do it.)

The show is up for 19 awards, including Outstanding Comedy, Best Actor in a Comedy (Matthew Morrison), Best Actress in a Comedy (Lea Michele), Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy (Chris Colfer), and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy (Jane Lynch).  ~ Melissa

The Good Wife

The dynamic due on The Good Wife

Another freshman series that shot out of the gate leaving everyone breathless, The Good Wife claimed 8 Emmy nominations. The nominations include Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Costumes for a Series and 5 acting nominations. Julianna Margulies received a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and co-stars Christine Baranski and Archie Panjabi received competing nominations in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category. Additionally, Alan Cummings and Dylan Baker received nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

With a premise that the wife of a disgraced state attorney general would stand by her cheating husband who may or may not be engaged in shady criminal activities, The Good Wife was not expected to steal the dramatic limelight. Yet with one episode, it riveted audiences. The mesmerizing legal battles back-dropped by salacious political maneuvering had viewers tuning in with record numbers. ~ Tiffany

The Closer

Once again The Closer is a part of the Emmy nominations with a Best Actress in a Drama nod for lead actress Kyra Sedgwick, who appears as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson in the TNT hit police drama about a Southern bred police detective who leads the Major Crimes Division of the Los Angeles Police Department in her own unique way, getting to the answers of unspeakable crimes. This year the show also received a nomination for Best Guest Actor in a Drama.

Legendary actor Beau Bridges made an unusual guest appearance in The Closer, starring as Detective George Andrews, former partner of Detective Provenza (G.W. Bailey), who has, since retiring from the force, undergone a sex change and is now a woman named Georgette. She returns to Los Angeles to help with an old case that is reopened, seeing Provenza for the first time after the change. ~ Rueben

Friday Night Lights

Finally!

Coming a bit late to the party, the 4 Emmy nominations for Friday Night Lights are long over-due. Fortunately, the 4th season of one of the best shows on television finally got its due. Nominations include Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama Series nominations for Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton.

A series about a town obsessed by football is actually a whole lot more than that. Friday Night Lights is more about an amazing group of individuals brought together by football and how their lives intersect in meaningful ways. They share in each others sorrows and triumphs and bring a level of humanity to some of life’s greatest challenges. We laugh and cry with them and wish that we too could live amongst them. It is not too late to discover this remarkable series that invites us to see what is really important — the relationships we have with each other. ~ Tiffany